TOYOTA | REAL DEALERS CAN'T JUMP | 2000
A Bet on a Car Ad That Doesn't Show the Car / TOYOTA "REAL DEALERS CAN'T JUMP"
In 2000, this Toyota dealer ad won Gold at Cannes. Just from the title, you get the feeling there's another twist waiting for you.
The problem
The agency behind the ads for the Toyota dealer association in Ontario, Canada was Gee Jeffery & Partners. Later critical writeups have pointed out that their ads deliberately avoided the most obvious strategy of showing the car as a way to "bring people into the showroom."
What happened
This agency had previously won a Gold Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for humor-driven dealer ads. "REAL DEALERS CAN'T JUMP" looks to be another Gold winner in that same vein.
Afterthought
Honestly, I couldn't track down solid evidence of exactly what made this one ad funny. What does seem certain is that winning awards with ads that don't show the car off was this agency's consistent style.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2000
